Fabrics are typically made from corresponding raw materials and are constructed by weaving, knitting, plaiting or braiding. For example, felt fabrics are produced by the interlocking of fibers. Fabrics are primarily classified into woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, felt fabrics, plaited fabrics, non-woven fabrics, laminated fabrics and molded fabrics by standard production methods thereof.
In a narrow sense, woven fabrics refer to fabrics constructed by interlacing vertical warp threads with horizontal weft threads at right angles. Woven fabrics are the most widely used fabrics for under wears and outer wears. Knitted fabrics are constructed by making sets of threads into loops and combining the loops with one another in forward, backward, left and right directions. Knitted fabrics are rapidly produced by knitting and tend to be loose and elastic when being worn. Strands of fibers are interlocked by heat, moisture, pressure or striking to construct felt fabrics, thus eliminating the need for the use of threads. In plaited, braided and lace fabrics, individual threads are interlaced with sets of threads while sliding in any one direction to attain desired effects. Non-woven fabrics are constructed by the application of adhesive materials, the attachment of fibers through chemical functions on the surface of the fibers, or the attachment of webs or sheets of thermoplastic fibers by heating. Laminated fabrics are constructed by laminating a foam to one or two woven fabrics to achieve improved flexibility and provide a cushiony feeling. The surface areas of molded fabrics are larger than those of the raw materials before extrusion. Molded articles (e.g., clothes) are cushiony, or are in the form of a pile or plate. These articles are very wearable, match the functions of the human body, and are not readily deformed.
The lateral sides of two-dimensional fabrics are not utilized or used. Sewing and other fusion techniques are currently used to impart three-dimensional shapes to fabrics.
Industrial applications of such techniques have been reported. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,519 suggests a blind comprising fabrics 85 and 86 and a movable blade 87 positioned between the fabrics wherein the fabrics are adhered to the blade by fusion or bonding (see, FIG. 13). The horizontal movement of the blade allows light to enter through the mesh type fabrics, and the vertical movement of the blade blocks light. By the movements of the blade, the amount of light entering the blind can be controlled. In addition, the soft texture and mesh structure of the fabrics enable the blind to shield light in a controllable manner. However, the use of an adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive for the adhesion of the blade to the fabrics may cause the problems of indoor environmental pollution. Particularly, long-term use of the blind causes a deterioration in the physical properties of the adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive by UV light, resulting in poor adhesion between the blade and the fabrics. In serious cases, the blade is separated from the fabrics.
In an attempt to overcome the above problems, a roll screen and a roll blind are suggested in Korean Patent No. 699769. Specifically, the blind is produced using a single fabric woven by warp threads and weft threads as connecting means. A front mesh type curtain sheet 12, a rear mesh type curtain sheet 13 and a light-shielding curtain sheet 14 are integrally formed in the blind. The mesh type curtain sheets serve to control the amount of air flowing through and light entering the blind, and the light-shielding curtain sheet serves to block light entering the blind. More specifically, the blind is configured such that the front mesh type curtain sheet 12, the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13 and the light-shielding curtain sheet 14 are integrated by connecting weft threads 17 woven together with front connecting knots 15 and rear connecting knots 16. The light-shielding curtain sheet 14 is woven between the front mesh type curtain sheet 12 and the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13 by repeatedly connecting and fixing the light-shielding curtain sheet 14 to the front mesh type curtain sheet 12 and the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13 while integrally bonding the connecting weft threads 17 to warp threads by weaving, passing the connecting weft threads 17 from the rear connecting knots 16 through grooves 18 formed in the front connecting knots 15, and repeatedly weaving the end portions of the connecting weft threads 17 integrally bonded to the front mesh type curtain sheet 12 with the warp threads of the rear connecting knots 16 to form several connecting knots.
The front mesh type curtain sheet 12 and the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13 are connected by the weft threads to construct the multilayer fabric. This requires the removal of the weft threads in order to create a three-dimensional shape. Further, the front mesh type curtain sheet 12, the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13, the light-shielding curtain sheet 14, the front connecting knots 15 and the rear connecting knots 16 are not woven together in the multilayer fabric. Instead, the front connecting knots 15 are formed by integrating the front mesh type curtain sheet 12, the light-shielding curtain sheet 14 and the weft threads 17, and the rear connecting knots 16 are formed by integrating the rear mesh type curtain sheet 13, the light-shielding curtain sheet 14 and the weft threads 17.
The greatest problem of the patent is that the blind contradicts the fundamental theory of weaving. Weaving is a technique by which warp threads and weft threads are interlaced on a loom to construct a fabric. Specifically, the construction of a fabric by weaving is achieved by winding warp threads on a warper, drawing-in the warp threads, moving the drawn-in warp threads upwardly and downwardly (i.e. shedding motion) on a loom to form openings, and passing weft threads between the openings. In view of the foregoing, weft threads must be moved upwardly and downwardly (shedding motion) to accomplish the patented blind. In actuality, however, the weaving technique is impossible to realize. Therefore, the patented blind is considered to be incomplete.